“On Saturday 15 January, at 5:10pm local time, the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai undersea volcano erupted in a blast 600 times more powerful than the bomb dropped on Hiroshima. It could be felt as far as away as New Zealand and Alaska. It prompted a tsunami.” The Guardian Jan 24, 2022 Do you use current events to trigger learning opportunities for…
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Why should we watch birds? Birds bring nature to us wherever we are anywhere in the world. Birds live in the suburbs, and in the country. We spot them around the ocean and in the desert. Some of our feathery friends fly from the Arctic to Antarctica. If you enjoy exploring the outdoors and observing wildlife, then birds are one…
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by Emily Graham When family life gets busy, it’s easy to let outdoor time become something of an afterthought. But when you stop and think about it, many kids (and their parents) just don’t get enough sunlight and fresh air these days. If you’ve ever heard the term nature-deficit disorder, you already know it can have harmful consequences for your…
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These visual math challenges have been created to intrigue and inspire your children. They are designed to be hands on, open-ended inquiries, to challenge them to think deeply about the world around them.
We were thrilled as masterpieces for the Art and Photography Competition poured into our inbox; honoured to receive each one displaying artistic flair and talent. We oohed and ahhed, finding it difficult indeed to choose winners. We wish we could send each one of the entrants a prize for exceptional effort. The Art and Photography Magazine includes all entries into…
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My girls love to mix and mash in their mud kitchen. I op shop for pots and pans, measuring jugs, mixing spoons, cups and bowls… anything that might inspire their love of mud pies! I encourage mud kitchens because they are a great way to explore measurement, capacity and ratio. Today, I directed their mud kitchen creations in a different…
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The next in the series of post combining Math and Art, we are going to consider the Mathematical beauty of String art. The earliest examples of string art can be traced back to Mary Everest Boole, a mathematician who lived in the early 1900’s. She developed a style of ‘curve stitching’ to help children explore math though playful activities. The…
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Do you know the thrill of identifying bird songs you recognize or the frustration of not being able to tell who is who in the jumble of sounds birds make? As a Birder, knowing the songs of birds will give you a new appreciation for the species and the place in which you live. You’ll be able to tell who…
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Materials needed: Bug Symmetry Templates from Art for Kids Clear Acetate Sheet – A4 size Sharpie Pen – Black Gouache/Acrylic Paint Tape To transfer the bug to the acetate, place the bug under the clear sheet and tape both to a window. Use the sharpie to trace over the half bug. Next flip the bug template and lay the clear…
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For our second post looking at Math and Art we have been inspired by Australian artist Erica Wagner. In particular we looked at Bittern Birds in the Garden Forest Song Hope is a Curlew Migrating South Then, I showed the children the work done by some Grade 2 students, incorporating cereal boxes, line and water-colour. My challenge to them was…
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Maurits Cornelis Escher was a Dutch artist who made mathematically inspired art. The very first time I saw an Escher, I knew that he would become one of my favourite artists. He would often use a technique called tessellation to create a picture where the images morph into each other. Look at this piece where the birds interlock creating a…
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